Ebbett seizes one more opportunity

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: November 29, 2009 - 12:23 AM

DENVER - It seems every day in the NHL, two or three players are on waivers and two or three clear waivers and are sent to the minors.

So it says something that Andrew Ebbett is still valued enough that the new Wild player has been claimed twice this season by two different teams.

Of course, that's taking the glass-half-full view of the situation.

Ebbett, 26, who entered Saturday's game at Colorado with one goal in two games for the Wild and then scored in the shootout on Saturday night, knows his chances are likely running out.

"I'm definitely very thankful to have this opportunity, but now I've got to make the best of it," said Ebbett, who started the season in Anaheim and ended up in Chicago. "If it happens again, I don't know if too many teams take that chance. It's desperation mode for me, and I've got to be the best of this so it doesn't happen again.

"It was a tense 24 hours when I was on waivers again. You don't know where you're going and you're worried that if no one takes a chance on you, you're going back down to the minors. When I found out I was still in the NHL, it was a pretty big relief."

But because the Blackhawks were on the road, Ebbett's personal possessions were still in the hotel he was living at in Chicago. His girlfriend packed up the room and will drive to Minnesota today.

"All I had with me were some suits and one pair of jeans, a couple T-shirts, so I had to go to the Mall of America the other day to go shopping," Ebbett said, laughing. "If I didn't go to the mall, I was going to have to show up to practice in suits."

Gillies takes a beating

Colton Gillies, who played 45 games for the Wild last season, says he's having a ball in Houston. He's living with former Eden Prairie forward Chad Rau, who's on an AHL contract.

"Nice awesome roommate," Gillies said.

On the ice, Gillies has been beaten up. He's playing with a hip injury, has had a broken nose and last week took a skate to the face, resulting in 20 stitches.

"Little bit of a rough go," said Gillies, who has seven points in 22 games. "I'm still trying to find my hands. It's amazing what a year of not really playing that much will do to you."

For more on Gillies, see Michael Russo's Sunday Insider on Page C10.

Etc.

• Cal Clutterbuck was still sporting a fat lip after being slashed, then cross-checked in the face by Boston's Dennis Wideman minutes apart on Wednesday. Clutterbuck lost four teeth, "but what's worse, they shattered in my mouth, so I was spitting them all over the place."

• Defenseman Marek Zidlicky, who couldn't participate in the morning skate and barely could move in warmups, was scratched because of a lower-body injury. Defenseman Jaime Sifers was supposed to replace scratched John Scott, but the Zidlicky injury meant Scott had to play.

• Colorado's David Jones tore his ACL and will miss four to six months after a third-period collision with Chuck Kobasew.

• Avs defenseman Tom Preissing, who played at Rosemount High, was placed on waivers to make room for the returns of defenseman Adam Foote and center Matt Hendricks, who won a state title at Blaine.

• Saturday's game was the last of November, meaning Movember has officially ended. A dozen Wild players donned mustaches this month to raise awareness and money for prostate and testicular cancer research.